Barcelona coach Xavi insists funds generated by the impending sale of Ousmane Dembele to Paris Saint-Germain must be reinvested in the team after seeing his plans for the new season derailed by the loss of one of his key attackers.
Dembele was an unused substitute in Barcelona's 1-0 pre-season friendly win over AC Milan in Las Vegas on Wednesday, after which Xavi confirmed the 26-year-old will join PSG.
The French winger has a £43 million release clause in his contract which the Parisians have reportedly triggered, shortly before the terms of his deal stipulated the figure would rise to £86m.
Talks have taken place between the parties and Dembele has made up his mind that his future lies away from Barca, whom he joined from Borussia Dortmund for £125m in 2017.
“Dembele came and told me he wanted to leave,” said Xavi. “I am a little disappointed. He has a proposal from PSG and we can't do anything. We can't compete with the proposal made to him from France.
"This is the market. Footballers who do not want to be at Barca, they have to be let go.
"We had a stage prepared for this possible loss and now we have to strengthen ourselves. Ousmane's loss weakens us."
Barcelona remain in the midst of a financial crisis that has lingered since the pandemic, and the loss of Dembele for significantly less than his full market value will come as a bitter blow.
His departure also leaves Xavi looking to replace a key component of his attack. Dembele scored eight times and provided nine assists in 35 games across all competitions last season.
Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, who spent last season on loan at Chelsea, is one name reported to be under consideration, while the Blaugrana have a long-standing interest in Manchester City's Bernardo Silva.
For PSG, Dembele's imminent arrival comes as a welcome boost following Lionel Messi's switch to Inter Miami and at a time when Kylian Mbappe's future remains unclear.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Mbappe, the Parisians have been busy adding to their squad under new coach Luis Enrique. Midfielder Manuel Ugarte has arrived from Sporting Lisbon (€60m), defender Lucas Hernandez has joined from Bayern Munich (€45m), while Kang-in Lee (€22m) and Marco Asensio (free) have moved from Mallorca and Real Madrid, respectively.
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
MATCH INFO
Mainz 0
RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')
Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
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The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T
Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
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The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
Jebel Ali results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 64,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: One Vision, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gabr, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
4pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 96,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Just A Penny, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
4.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Torno Subito, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Untold Secret, Jose Santiago, Salem bin Ghadayer
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
